Wire feeding and cut off apparatus



March 11, 1958 D. K. HOPKINS WIRE FEEDING AND cm: OFF APPARATUS Original Filed July 28, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mi \IW INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS D. K. HOPKINS WIRE FEEDING AND CUT OFF APPARATUS Original Filed July 28, 1951 March 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

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United States Patent Durward Kenneth Hopkins, Feoria, IlL, assignor to Spininer Products Co., Peoria, IIL, a corporation of Illinois Original application July 28, 1951-, Serial No. 239,146,

now abandoned. Divided and this application November 7, 1955, Serial No. 545,430

4 Claims. (Cl. 164-39) This invention relates to wire feeding and cut off apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for feeding stay wires in a wire mesh forming machine.

In forming welded wire mesh, as for example in a machine of the type more particularly described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 239,146, filed July 28, 1951, and now abandoned, line wires are fed around a drum and stay wires are. fed axially onto the drum to cross the line wires and to be welded thereto. The present invention relates to apparatus for feeding stay wires onto a drum or the like and for cutting off the stay wires to the correct length.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a wire feeding and cut off apparatus in which the wire is positively advanced by driving rollers or the like and is stopped by braking means prior to the cut off operation.

Another object is to provide apparatus in which the drive rollers for feeding the wire are disengaged therefrom by operation of the braking apparatus.

According to one feature of the invention, the wire is braked by friction shoes engageable with opposite surfaces thereof and one of which is moved through pressure on the wire to disengage a drive roller from the wire,

According to another feature of the invention, the cut off member is moved by the brake element to cut off the wire, thereby to insure that the wire will be braked before it is cut. I

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial perspective View of a wire mesh forming machine embodying the feeding and cut off apparatus of the present invention; V

Figure 2 is' a' partial side elevation illustrating the cut off mechanism;

Figure 3 is a partial front elevation of the braking means;

Figure 4 is a partial front elevation of the entire feeding and cut off apparatus;

Figure 5 is an end elevation looking from the left in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a transverse section through the feed roller drive gearing.

The complete wire mesh forming machine with which the feeding and cut off means of the present invention is used as partially illustrated in Figure 1 is supported on a common base generally indicated at 10 which carries a pair of spaced upright side plates, one of which is shown at 11. The apparatus is driven from an electric motor or other suitable source of power through a belt 12 which engages a drive pulley 13 on a gear reducer 14 to drive the several different parts of the mechanism.

The wire mesh forming apparatus comprises a main forming roller 15 provided with a series of axially extending grooves in its surface. A series of line wires 16 are [fed circumferentially around the roller and are held tightly against the roller in the manner more fully described and "ice 2 claimed in my parent application Serial No. 239,146, of which this application is a division. To complete the wire inesh stay wires are fedaxially into the grooves in the roller and are cut off riearthe end of the rollerand are then welded to the line wires at the points where they cross.

The wire feeding and cut off mechanism of the present invention is adapted to feed a continuous lengthof wire into the grooves in the roller and to cut off the wire adjacent the end of the roller to form the separate stay wires. The wire as shown at 17 is supplied from a reel or spool through wire straightening devices 18. These wire straightening devices may be of conventional construction with a series of rollers to bend the wire alternately in opposite directions to remove any kinks therefrom. From the straightening devices, the wire passes between a pair of friction blocks 19 and 20 and then between feed rollers 21 and 22 which advance the wire. From the feed rollers the wire passes through a guide 23 and axially of the forming roller into one of the grooves therein. Adjacent to the end of the forming roller the wire is adapted to be cut off between a fixed die member 24 and the end of the guide 23.

When the wire is being fed, the drive rollers 21 and 22 are in frictional engagement therewith and the friction blocks 19 and 20 are separated so that the wire can pass freely between them. The guide 23 is accurately aligned with one of the grooves in the roller 15 so that the wire will be fed into the groove as described more fully in the parent application. After a predetermined length of wire has been fed into the roller, the apparatus is operated to stop feeding of the wire and to effect cut off. Control of this operation is effected by a cam 25 driven by the main gear reducer 14 as best seen in Figure 5. The cam 25 engages a roller 26 carried by one end of a bell crank lever 27 which is pivotally mounted at its center on a main control sha'ft28. The other end of the bell crank lever 27 carries the lowerfriction block 20 so that when the bell crank lever is turned counterclockwise by the cam 25 the friction block 20 will move upward toward the block 19 to grip the wire between them.

The block 19 is connected through an arm 29 to the shaft 28 and can be elevated through pressure exerted thereon by the wire when the bell crank lever 27 is rocked to turn the shaft 28.

As best seen in Figure 6, the shaft 28 has secured thereto a frame 31 on' which the upper drive roller 22 is mounted. As shown, the drive roller 22 is carried by a shaft 32 journaled in bearings 33 on the frame 31. The frame is normally urged downward to press the upper roller 22 into driving engagement with the wire by an adjustable spring 34, but when the shaft 28 is turned counterclockwise, as seen in Figure 6, the roller 22 will be raised to disengage the wire and interrupt the drive.

To insure proper registry of the drive rollers, the upper roller 22 is made axially adjustable. As shown in Figure 6, for this purpose the shaft 32 is slidable axially in a sleeve 35 which is journaled in the bearings 33. An adjusting screw 36 is threaded into one end of the shaft and is held against axial movement into the sleeve by a plate 37. A lock nut 38 is threaded onto the other end of the shaft to engage the opposite end of the sleeve thereby to hold the shaft adjustably fixed lengthwise in the sleeve.

The drive rollers are adapted to be driven by meshing gears 39 secured on the respective shafts for the drive rollers so that the rollers will be driven at the proper speed to feed the wire. The lower drive roller and its gear 39 are mounted on a shaft 41 which may be positively driven from the main gear reducer 14.

To effect cut off of the wire, the shaft 28 also controls raising of the wire guide 23 relative to the cut off blade 24. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3, the guide 23 is mounted in a bracket 42 which is pivoted at 43 on the main frame of the machine or on a suitable bracket fixedly secured thereto as indicated at 44. The shaft 28 carries an arm 45 which has at its outer end an adjustable stop screw 46 which is engageable with the outer end of the bracket 42 most remote from the pivot 43. When the shaft 28 is turned clockwise as seen in Figure 2, the stop screw 46 will rock the bracket 42 clockwise to raise the guide 23. The cutting die 24 is fixedly mounted on the bracket 44 and is notched to receive the wire. This die lies closely adjacent to the end of the guide 23 and cooperates therewith to cut off the wire when the guide is raised. Preferably, the die and the end of the guide lie as close to the end of the forming roller as is feasible to minimize the length of wire projecting beyond the forming roller.

With this construction, interruption of the wire drive and cut off of the wire are both effected through braking pressure applied to the wire through the blocks 19 and 2%.

This positively insures that the wire will be braked to a complete stop and that there will be no driving pressure thereon at the time of cut off. Positive disengagement of the driving rollers from the wire when the braking means is applied also minimizes wear on the driving rollers and prevents damage to the wire.

While the present invention has been particularly described in connection with the wire mesh forming apparatus of the parent application, it will be understood that the present apparatus might be used in many other places where wire is to be fed and cut otf from a substantially continuous length. It will further be apparent that many changes might be made in the details of the apparatus and that the specific embodiment shown is to be taken as illustrative only and not as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

I claim:

1.Wire feeding and cut-off apparatus comprising a wire guide, means to move a wire through the guide, means mounting the guide for movement in a plane normal to the length of the wire, the guide moving the wire with it as it moves, a cut off member fixedly mounted adjacent to the guide and cooperating with the guide to cut the wire upon movement of the guide and wire relative to the cut off member, a pair of friction blocks movably mounted on opposite sides of the wire, means to move one Of the blocks toward the other to grip the wire between them and to move said other of the blocks through engagement of the wire therewith, and a connection between said other of the blocks and the guide to move the guide when the block is moved.

2. Wire feeding and cut off apparatus comprising a pair of drive rollers to engage and feed a wire, means mounting one of the rollers for movement toward and away from the other to engage or release the wire, a pair of friction blocks movably mounted on opposite sides of the wire, means to move one of the blocks toward the other to grip the wire between the blocks and to move said other of the blocks through engagement of the wire therewith, a guide through which the wire moves, means mounting the guide for movement in a plane normal to the length of the wire, the guide moving the wire with it as it moves, a out 01f member fixedly mounted adjacent to the guide and cooperating therewith to cut the wire upon lateral movement of the guide and wire relative to the cut off member, and connections from said other of the blocks to the guide and to said one of the rollers to move the roller out of engagement with the wire and to move the guide for cutting the wire.

3. Wire feeding and cut off apparatus comprising a pair of drive rollers to engage and feed a wire, a shaft extending transversely of the axis of the rollers, means carried by the shaft mounting one of the rollers so that it will be moved away from the other roller to release the wire when the shaft is turned, a pair of friction blocks mounted on opposite sides of the wire, an arm connecting one of the blocks to the shaft, a cam mechanism to move the block toward said one of the blocks to grip the wire between them and to move said one of the blocks thereby to turn the shaft, a wire guide carried by the shaft to be moved when the shaft turns, and a cut oil member fixed adjacent to the wire guide and cooperating therewith to cut off the wire when the guide is moved.

4. Wire feeding and cut off apparatus comprising a wire guide, means to move a wire through the guide, means mounting the guide for movement in a plane normal to the length of the wire, the guide moving the wire Jlilh it as it moves, a cut off member fixedly mounted adjacent to the guide and cooperating therewith to cut off the wire upon movement of the guide and wire relative to the cut off member, a pair of friction blocks mounted on opposite sides of the wire, a shaft, an arm connecting one of the blocks to the shaft, a cam mechanism to move the other block toward said one of the blocks to grip the wire between them and to move said one of the blocks thereby to turn the shaft, and a connection from the shaft to the wire guide to move the wire guide as the shaft turns.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,275,984 Bailey Aug. 13, 1918 1,867,343 Wittek July 12, 1932 1,872,018 Street Aug. 16, 1932 2,330,119 Giffen Sept. 21, 1943 

